Title Matthew 13:31-33 The Living Church
Contents
Matthew 13:31-33, a living church
Church is a word derived from the word “living”. Life is alive.
To have life means that something is changing and there is movement. When you see people stepping on live grass and squeezing it out of hard places where cars travel, you realize that it is wonderful to have life.
But what do churches look like now? As long as the church is alive, no circumstances will matter. But our reality is not like that. We hear a lot of blaming the environment in many places. In this situation, I try to think of a living church. Through our church today, we are going to examine what vitality is and what a vital church looks like.
First of all, what is vitality?
The Bible says that Jesus is life. It is especially used in the Gospel of John. In 1:4, Jesus said that there is life, and in 5:35, where he fed the 5,000 people with five barley loaves and two fish, he says that I am the bread of life.
Also, when Lazarus, who died at the command of Jesus, comes back to life from the tomb, he says that I am the resurrection and the life. Once again, the night before Jesus died, he called his disciples together and told them not to worry, saying in 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The life Jesus is talking about is abundant, eternal, and full of joy.
Therefore, a living church refers to a church that has the life of Jesus. Life has power. A living church has the power of dynamite. So the history of the church has been the history of power. Through the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the Holy Spirit came and the church was established. The church begins to cry out to the world. “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I give I give in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, walk.” The church moving forward in the name of Jesus had power. The world began to change because of the vital church. The history of life began to take place.
What does a living church look like?
We are talking about two things in today's text. One is like a mustard seed planted in a field. The mustard seed is the smallest of the seeds, and when I planted it, it has become a tree big enough for birds to come and nest because it has life. This is what a church with vitality looks like. We can tell when we think of the disciples of Jesus in the early church. They were really weak people. He had no education, no wealth, no power. That is why Jesus' disciples were despised and despised by the world. People would have wondered what they would do when they saw it. And what kind of people gather around them? Most of the people in the world were hungry people, sick people, demon-possessed people and people with leprosy. The people around Jesus like this had nothing to boast about.
However, after Jesus was resurrected and ascended to heaven, they received the power of the Holy Spirit and the kingdom of God began to expand by them. The weak people who have nothing to love in the world gather to preach Jesus, but because there is vitality, the church has come to dominate the world. That is why there are millions of people who believe in Jesus in Korea today. Because the church has vitality, the weak can gather to form a large tree.
The second is that it is like leaven from which all the flour is made to rise.
Also, the vitality of leaven is that it never wears out. It does not give in to any difficulties and does not rest until all the powder is inflated. Don't give up. Don't be discouraged. Our Lord, who is the head of the church and the Lord of life, also commands us to “be faithful to death.”
But what about the church today? Are you a church that has the life of Jesus? A living church conquers the world. A vibrant church changes the world. A living church is silent. A vibrant church does not tire. A vibrant church is not discouraged.
I am the church and we are the church. Do we have this look? What's the problem with us today? Is it an environmental challenge? Is the economy difficult? The question is whether we have the life of Jesus.
Paul, who had the life of Jesus, did not become discouraged or resentful by blaming his circumstances. Even though he felt his life was in danger, he did not give up on preaching the gospel. As a result, the history of life took place even in prison. Onesimus, who was imprisoned for stealing his master's property and running away and doing bad things, was the son of his prisoner, who used to be useless to many, but now he is useful to many. The church that owns life will accomplish the history of life in any environment.
What's wrong with our church today? Is it an environmental challenge? Running out of money? It will not be. The problem is that we do not have the life of Jesus.